SOUTH KOREA
Hot nights break record
A streak of hot tropical nights broke a century-old weather record, official data released yesterday showed, as the peninsula bakes in a prolonged heat wave. Overnight temperatures in Seoul sizzled above 25°C for 22 consecutive days last month, officials said, marking the longest such streak for the month since modern weather records began in October 1907. The capital was also on track to record its hottest July night in history on Wednesday, with the lowest temperature of the day reaching 29.3°C.
Photo: Reuters
MYANMAR
Junta ends state of emergency
The junta yesterday ended its state of emergency, ramping up plans for a December election that opposition groups pledged to boycott and monitors said would be used to consolidate the military’s power. The military declared a state of emergency in February 2021 as it deposed the civilian government of democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sparking a many-sided civil war that has claimed thousands of lives. Opposition groups including ex-lawmakers ousted in the coup have pledged to snub the poll, which a UN expert in June dismissed as “a fraud” designed to legitimize the military’s continuing rule.
UNITED STATES
City official set on fire
A city councilman in Danville, Virginia, was seriously injured on Wednesday when a man stormed into his office at a local magazine, doused him in gasoline and set him on fire — an attack that authorities said was rooted in a personal dispute, not politics. Lee Vogler, 38, who has served on the Danville City Council for more than a decade, was taken by medical helicopter to a burn unit in North Carolina after the attack. Police said the assailant, 29-year-old Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, forced his way into Vogler’s office at Showcase Magazine, confronted him, then chased him outside and set him ablaze. Hayes was arrested at the scene on charges of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated malicious wounding.
PAKISTAN
Climber confirmed dead
Two-time Olympic biathlon gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier of Germany was confirmed dead aged 31 on Wednesday after being hit by falling rocks on a mountain. The dangerous nature of the site made rescue efforts “impossible,” her management company reported in a statement that confirmed her death. “This is an enormous shock. Laura will always remain in my heart,” Dahlmeier’s friend and rival, Czech champion Gabriela Soukalova, wrote on social media. The accident happened around midday on Monday at an altitude of 5,700m on Laila Peak in the Karakoram range, a statement from Dahlmeier’s team said. Her climbing partner was able to sound the alarm after reaching safety, but no one was able to reach her due to conditions that made a helicopter rescue impossible, a local official said.
FRANCE
Michael Jackson sock sold
A single glittery sock that late pop superstar Michael Jackson wore during a concert in France in the 1990s sold for more than US$8,000 on Wednesday, an auctioneer said. A technician found the used sock discarded near Jackson’s dressing room after the concert in the southern city of Nimes in July 1997, auctioneer Aurore Illy said. Decades later, the off-white item of clothing is covered in stains, and the rhinestones adorning it have yellowed with age, in a picture posted online. “It really is an exceptional object — even a cult one for Michael Jackson fans,” Illy said.
READINESS: According to a survey of 2,000 people, 86 percent of Swedes believe the country is worth defending in the event of a military attack Swedes are stocking up on food items in case of war, as more conflict in Europe no longer feels like a distant possibility, and authorities encourage measures to boost readiness. At a civil preparedness fair in southwest Stockholm, 71-year-old Sirkka Petrykowska said that she is taking the prospect of hostilities seriously and preparing as much as she can. “I have bought a camping stove. I have taken a course on preservation in an old-fashioned way, where you can preserve vegetables, meat and fruit that lasts for 30 years without a refrigerator,” Petrykowska said. “I’ve set aside blankets for warmth, I
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
IN THE AIR: With no compromise on the budget in sight, more air traffic controllers are calling in sick, which has led to an estimated 13,000 flight delays, the FAA said Concerns over flight delays and missed paychecks due to the US government shutdown escalated on Wednesday, as senators rejected yet another bid to end the standoff. Democrats voted for a sixth time to block a Republican stopgap funding measure to reopen government departments, keeping much of the federal workforce home or working without pay. With the shutdown in its eighth day, lines at airports were expected to grow amid increased absenteeism among security and safety staff at some of the country’s busiest hubs. Air traffic controllers — seen as “essential” public servants — are kept at work during government shutdowns, but higher numbers
RSS